May 29 (Reuters) - The following are the top stories in

the Wall Street Journal. Reuters has not verified these stories

and does not vouch for their accuracy.

- Merck ( MRK ) is close to a $1.3 billion deal to buy

Eyebiotech in cash upfront and make an additional $1.7 billion

in milestone payments for the company, which goes by the name

EyeBio.

- Activist investor Irenic Capital Management has built a

stake of nearly 5% in U.S. trucking company Forward Air ( FWRD )

. Irenic privately sent a letter to Forward Air's ( FWRD )

directors this month calling for a board shake-up and a

strategic review to consider a range of options including a

sale.

- Hess shareholders on Tuesday voted to approve a

$53 billion deal to sell the company to Chevron ( CVX ),

clearing a hurdle for the companies to combine.

- Adam Neumann has given up on buying WeWork, the bankrupt

shared-workspace company he co-founded and was ousted from five

years ago and said the company looks to be emerging from

bankruptcy with a plan that appears "unrealistic and unlikely to

succeed."

- The former chief executive officer of Pioneer Natural

Resources, Scott Sheffield, said U.S. antitrust authorities

smeared him in their move to block him from joining Exxon

Mobil's ( XOM ) board of directors.

- Chinese firms trying to buffer themselves from

Washington's anti-China policies are rebranding and creating

U.S.-domiciled businesses to sell their wares as the Biden

administration expands the government entity lists that restrict

Chinese companies' business dealings in the U.S., say

policymakers and national-security experts.

(Compiled by Bengaluru newsroom)